Some convicts more privileged than others: SC in Bilkis case

Every convict is not the same and some are more privileged than the others, the Supreme Court observed on Thursday as it heard a challenge to the remission granted to 11 men sentenced to life term for gang-raping Bilkis Bano and murdering members of her family during the 2002 Gujarat riots

- Utkarsh Anand

A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasised that the real issue before the court was whether the power to grant remission was exercised correctly by the Gujarat government, after taking into account all the relevant factors. As it continued hearing the arguments in the matter, the bench, at one point, highlighted that the convicts in Bilkis Bano case cannot seek parity with those life-term convicts who were not let out on parole or furlough during their sentence.

Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for one of the convicts, sought to make a point about long incarceration of convicts and the endless wait for their families outside while stressing on the significance of remission policy that he said was guided by the theory of reformation. "Life behind bars is very difficult. They (the convicts in the case) have been lodged for at least 15 years.